Deeper bass
 

How can I get a deeper bass sound
La Patrie collection
D’Addario ej46 strings

Dave

Try a low tension set. Should be richer.

A lower tension
Will try that
Thanks

A couple well placed small ports....

Well placed for aesthetic concerns or for some sound shaping?

Not aesthetics, but function (pointed right at both ears when I'm playing) and yes, major "sound shaping".......added a huge amount of warmth and volume to the instrument.

Tim Mcknight was here a few weeks back and got a chance to experience it. He was quite impressed. He's a bit of a port guru, so that says a lot!

This guitar has sent many 2-3k used classicals packing.;)

I don't doubt that the ports did as you describe, but going back
to the OP's needs, they cannot provide a deeper bass, since
they will raise the main air resonance.

What's the Cordoba model? I had a C12 S/R lattice that was very, very good. What tool(s) did you use for the ports? I'm going to buy a 2nd Ibanez mini dread to try some port experimentation, and do a direct comparison with the 1st one.

Well, I know what they did to THIS guitar, and you won't change what I'm hearing with fancy words;)

I think if they were larger, it wouldn't have had this effect, but it CERTAINLY added bass/warmth/volume. All I have to do is plug them up and play and then open them up to confirm - which I've done dozens of times, and I have a pretty darn good ear.

This is a C9 Spruce. I've owned 2-3 of the C12's (all were spruce and one was Madagascar back and sides) and this guitar is lighter and more responsive, even without the ports. There is some magic in the lightness of the build with the Mahogany paired with the fan bracing

I use a small Dremel bit for a started hole, then an endpin reamer to enlarge and finally a 1/4" strip of 220 grit wrapped around the end of a C02 cartridge, twisting back and forth to enlarge further and put a nice bevel in the port. You have to be careful with nitro finish guitars because the finish will chip if you use power tools.

Thanks. I agree that there's an additional, noticeable warmth when a soundhole is uncovered. What Carey mentioned about the raising of the main air resonance could well be accurate, even as I don't know exactly what is meant by it. Comes to mind a time when a friend set a fire (in a fireplace) in a room that was cooling as night fell. I mentioned hearing that a fireplace can actually cool down a room even as it is creating heat - depending on the airflow up the chimney, I guess. His response, while not disproving the idea, was perfect, All I know is that when there's fire, I'm warm.

Adding a port will certainly change the air resonance, but there are FAR too many variables to definitively say what it would do to specific tonal characteristics on a wide variety of guitars.

Maybe a port or two will give the OP what s/he is looking for, and many people do like them. The one time I put one in a guitar I noticed a slight but
perceptible increase in 'airiness', I guess you could call it, but also less solidity in the sound of the sixth string, which that guitar in particular could not really afford, so I covered it back up, and still play it that way. For someone else
maybe the change would be an improvement. Since the OP was seeking
"deeper bass" I thought it was worthwhile to mention that the main cavity
resonance frequency can only go up by adding a port.

The word you used to describe the change - airiness, tells me that the port was likely too large for the guitar. I've ported a couple dozen instruments now and as I've gone along, they've gotten smaller and the results better.

It's hard to tell the size of the ports in my Cordoba from the pics, but they are actually a little smaller than a nickel.

I'd say there's at least a 15-20% increase in low end response......being spruce and mahogany, it was a bit bright beforehand - not anymore;)

Just for reference, the single port I did was 5/8", and I used a Forstner bit
which makes a nice clean hole, for those interested.